Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Purchased by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,016 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $6,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total transaction of $118,454.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,838.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total value of $160,010.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,709 shares in the company, valued at $866,934.18. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,388 shares of company stock worth $2,307,487. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $324.37.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded up $4.19 on Friday, hitting $346.93. 626,807 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 860,800. The stock has a market cap of $39.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.69, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm's 50-day moving average is $308.03 and its 200 day moving average is $283.33. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $348.43.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.99%.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.